NBA Notebook: Is Tyreke Evans or Lou Williams a better fit for Celtics?

The Celtics will add a prominent name to their roster this week in the form of big man Greg Monroe, but that’s far from the only move Danny Ainge will be making around this week’s trade deadline. With Boston’s offense still middling on certain nights, the team’s second unit could use an upgrade in shooting/scoring. Let’s explore two of the names (Lou Williams, Tyreke Evans) that could help improve the Celtics in that department, along with some of the limitations that the front office will be working through as they try to pursue them.

What to consider when looking at the duo and other trade candidates for the Celtics

Low salaries: After agreeing to sign Greg Monroe to a 1-year, $5 million deal on Friday, the Celtics are approaching the luxury tax threshold. The team’s payroll currently stands about $3.6 million below it (once Monroe is brought aboard) so they still have some flexibility there, but they certainly don’t want to go over it this year if they don’t have to (since it would cost ownership millions). For that reason, don’t look for any players on big salaries (think above $8 million per year to be added).

Bird Rights: The Celtics are going to be over the salary cap this offseason, but Bird Rights give them a way to retain a trade deadline addition for future seasons (if the price is right). Most players Boston is in the market for do have Bird Rights (such as Lou Williams), while those signed to one-year deals (Tyreke Evans) do not. That element will impact the number of assets the Celtics are willing to give up for said pieces.

Depth on the Celtics roster: Right now, there are five candidates to be moved on the Celtics roster due to their salaries, talent and contract situations (Abdel Nader, Guerschon Yabusele, Shane Larkin, Marcus Smart, Aron Baynes). Nader and Larkin are the players with the least trade value, so they are most likely to be moved. Yabusele comes in closely behind them. Baynes and Smart obviously have value to the Celtics (as does Larkin), but one of them may need to be used for salary matching purposes.

Evans vs. Williams on Celtics

Tyreke Evans

The 28-year-old shooting guard is in the midst of his best season since his rookie year, averaging 19.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 5.0 apg in 31 mpg. He’s shooting a career-best 39 percent from 3-point range, which is well above his career average of 31 percent. He also only makes $3.2 million per year, which is helpful for salary matching purposes (Yabusele or Nader/Larkin works). While the 6-foot-6 wing is a versatile creator, he is at his best with the ball in his hands. If the Celtics want to give him the keys to the second unit, that could work nicely. He’s obviously a better option in that role than Marcus Smart or Terry Rozier. However, it’s fair to have concern about his long distance shooting over his career and how much of an issue that could become at playoff time. Seeing that he would likely just be a rental (no Bird Rights), it’s hard to see the Celtics sacrificing a first round pick for him. Yabusele or a couple of second round picks could be on the table.

Lou Williams

The Clippers sixth man has been in trade rumors for months now and he was connected to Boston by Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald on Saturday. The 31-year-old is earning $7 million in a career year (23.4 ppg, 39% 3pt) and he flirted with an All-Star berth in the Western Conference due to those numbers. Williams could be considered a more attractive candidate than Evans for a few reasons: He has a better career track record from 3-point range (35 percent), he has Bird Rights (so Celtics could re-sign him after season if they wanted to at whatever cost), and he has a more consistent track record as a scorer off the bench. On the other hand, Williams is only 6-foot-1 and that size makes him vulnerable as a defender. Other teams can and will pick on him to attack constantly in mismatches, so that has to be a concern. His playoff track record over seven NBA seasons (37.6 FG, 25% 3pt) is also dicey, as opponents have successfully keyed in on him more during stints in Philadelphia, Toronto, Atlanta and Houston.

The other tricky part of dealing for him is the $7 million salary. The Celtics would need the Clippers to bite on a Nader/Larkin/Yabusele offer to make the money work. Otherwise, a bigger salary such as Baynes or Smart would need to be moved to bring him in. It might make sense to move Smart anyway if they’re bringing in Lou (they aren’t playing Smart, Rozier and Williams together) but that’s likely going to be a tough internal debate in the Celtics front office this week.

Who is the better fit?

A lot of this comes down to whether you are a believer in the current bounceback year by Evans. Plenty of things about him makes more sense for this Celtics team. He’s not a strong defender but his size (6-foot-6) gives him versatility, and that’s a valuable weapon during the postseason. He should be a cheaper target than Williams due to not having Bird Rights for future seasons and his ugly track record with injuries. While it’s fair to be skeptical of his current season as just a hot couple months, Evans has shown signs of progress from 3-point range for the past four seasons now, and he should be benefitting from more open looks while playing alongside the likes of Al Horford and Kyrie Irving.

While Williams is a more reliable offensive option and can play on and off the ball, it’s hard to overlook his defensive limitations and playoff struggles from past years. He has always been a bit of a chucker on offense and that strategy doesn’t work well in the postseason unless you get hot. Williams hasn’t been able to do that for several years now, so it’s hard to see the Celtics sacrificing a lot to get him.

When you combine that with the fact that Ainge has been tied to Evans in trade rumors for years, the swingman checks more boxes for the Celtics than Williams. If the price is too high, the Celtics won’t be landing either one (they’ll hit the buyout market for a shooter instead), but if I had to pick one or the other for the season, the choice is Evans.